Conjoint Analysis Project Team Assignment TEAM 02
• Managerial problem being addressed by the conjoint study
The managerial problem being addressed by this conjoint study is to determine if the New Balance Shoe Company (NBSC) should launch a new men’s running shoe under the New Balance name. The NBSC would like to understand what attributes active male runners would prefer under what price points for this new product.
• Description of design, including rationale for the factors and levels
The participants of the study were asked to their overall preferences for different alternatives. There were four attributes for this conjoint analysis. The first attribute, price, had three levels with a low, medium and high level approach. The second attribute, brand, had three levels with different brand name’s listed. The third
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A lower preference in the durability attribute could be correlated to brand loyalty. For example, if the consumer is happy with a new running shoe, at a very low price, that has a very low durability, and the consumer remains extremely loyal to the NBSC the new running shoe, the NBSC can actually increase revenue and profits by selling the new running shoe more often. The opposite would also be true, and should the consumer want a very low priced, extremely durable shoe, consumer loyalty would remain high, however, the NBSC would see a decrease in sales of this low cost, and extremely durable shoe.
The final attribute, comfort/design, would determine if the NBSC should manufacturer a new running shoe that is stiff or soft. This attribute will determine the actual make and feel of the shoe, greatly affecting the pre-purchase manufacturing and raw materials needed for the product creation. This knowledge prior to initial manufacturing can have a great impact on the entire supply chain.
• Analysis and managerial interpretation of the
The blueprint of a Nike Shoe originates from the Nike Research Lab located at the Nike World Headquarters in Oregon. At the Nike Research Lab, researchers carry out various tests in biomechanics, physiology, sensory in order to customise the product to suit the best interest of the clients. In addition, various factors such as geography, age, gender are also taken into account in order to cater to appeal to the preferences and needs of different segments of the market. For example, according to the Lab, runners in the United States prefer hard surfaces while those in Europe prefer trails and thus this will affect the compositions of the footwear sold in different regions. The latest innovation of the Research Lab, the NikeFree Shoe enhanced overall athletic performance by stimulating the effect of running barefoot with added features which enabled the strengthening of muscles and lowering the risk of injuries.
Product: As an athletic shoes producer, they try to provide better quality and more comfortable shoes that fit to the sport player through research and development. By claiming their shoes meet the physics need of different sports, which help the sport player to maximize their ability by protecting them and reduce the sport harm.
Athletic shoes were originally designed for sports and other types of physical exercises. Today, they have become a pair of shoes that is used for casual everyday activities because they are so flexible, comfortable and fashionable. Athletic shoes have greater expectations than an ordinary pair of shoes. They were made to increase ones health, for running, and leisure. Athletic shoes can be traced back to the ancient Greek. Runners used to compete barefooted until the Romans mandated them to wear thin-soled sandals. The first “All-purposed athletic shoe” was designed in 1900 and it was made from canvas and featured a rubber rim (Kolecki, 2009).
In order to beat its competitors, Under Armour Company can engage in market sensitive fresh product invention. New products are more likely to draw curiosity amongst the populations especially if they commensurate well with the prevailing trends (Hill & Jones 2009, p. 308).
What makes a person choose one brand of clothing over another? Is it the price? Or is it the style of the clothing? There are numerous factors that will play a key role in determining who will purchase your products and why they will choose to purchase your product. Kevin Plank, the founder of Under Armour and former captain of the special teams on Maryland University’s football team, would become infuriated at the amount of times he was forced to change his undershirt during games and practices due to how heavy with sweat they would become. He set out to create a shirt that would help keep an athlete cool and dry during intense physical activity. This simple idea would develop into a powerhouse in the sports apparel industry and has broken into the sports equipment industry as well.
Compared with those two competitors, Chipman-Union was not known well to consumers. To attract consumers' attention to their products, first of all, physically prominent features of the product should be introduced. For them, it seemed impossible for CU's brand to compete with competitors' established brands without unique product characteristics. For this purpose, deodorizing socks could be a reasonable physical feature for differentiating the product from other competitors' products. In addition to this deodorizing feature, various types of socks should be developed.
Customers were looking for a well branded bike with high quality and the lowest price. Depending on the market segments, the customers had different preferences of what they wanted from a company. Customers influenced by advertisement options, price, quality, public relations, and many other factors that strongly altered their buying decision.
Nike’s goal is to remain unique and different from others in terms of the items offered on the market. Arguably, Nike belongs to a monopolistically competitive market as there only a few organizations with the ability to regulate the amount charged for their product which means they cannot make their prices high as this is likely to make customers move on to other available choices (Nike, Inc., 2012). However, Nike can find a balance between the prices to charge for their products and remaining competitive with other companies in the industry. Nike has formed a distinction between the appearance and performance of their footwear and that of their competitors. Although products are differentiated from other companies, they still influence each other because they are items of the same
Marketing In this day and age is vital for a company to perform at its possible best. Marketing’s main focus is to give great satisfaction to a customer. There are many aspect of marketing, these aspects give marketer’s the tools to help strive for the best possible success they can achieve. They hope that they can create exposure for their brand, product or service.
With the increased monitoring and enforcement of labour practices; Nike being in the public spotlight and subject to negative publicity on their subcontracted factories is forced to readjust the working conditions of their cross ocean factory workers to abide with proper regulations. This has caused Nike to modify their factory standards and employee working conditions by; limiting the maximum hours worked a week, implementing proper ventilation systems to filter out toxic fumes, increase worker access to protective equipment, and increase the capacity of medical facilities and medical staff for their workers.
In reviewing the case of New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. it is clear that there are a few major problems that the company is facing. First of all, New Balance falls behind its other major competitors, Nike, Adidas and Reebok, in the area of marketing. Unlike its competitors, New Balance does not undertake celebrity endorsements. This puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to brand building. This also causes the company to lose out somewhat on gaining awareness on a global scale as it lacks endorsements in major sporting events. Most global brand names generate strong brand recognition through celebrity endorsements in sporting events that would give them the needed momentum to carry their brand name further into the global market.
Main drivers for US profitability has been within women shoes, broken down in sub categories of casual (17%), dress (13%), and athletic (10%) shoes, composing roughly a 40% demand of the market. However, domestically men’s athletic shoes represent 20% of the market and show signs of increase, globally men’s athletic shoes make up 30% of the market. This increase in sales within the athletic sub-category can be lead by the increase in demand for shoes that allow easy, fast movement. Studies show that ages within 18 and 45 in the U.S. have increased physical fitness by 17% since 2006. According to the Outdoor Industry Association, outdoor footwear grew...
Has anybody here ever walked into a shoe store looking for a running shoe? You were probably dazed and confused because there were just so many different brands and styles to choose from. Now a days, shoe stores stock their running sections with different brands and styles. If you are one of those people who has not been shoe shopping in years, then prepared to be shocked. Technology and designs of running shoes have changed drastically. Running shoes are better than ever now, due to these changes. Also, with all the different name brands such as Asics, Brooks, New Balance, Nike and others, you can assure yourself your are paying for a quality product.
Customers will prefer buying the shoes if it focuses on these top 3 qualities when it comes to the shoes:
Sport Obermeyer is a high-end fashion skiwear design and merchandising company headquartered in Aspen, Colorado. Over the years, Sports Obermeyer has developed into a dominant competitor. Sports Obermeyer's estimated sales in 1992 were $32.8 million. The company holds 45% share of children's skiwear and 11% of adult Skiwear market. Sport Obermeyer produces merchandise ranging from: parkas, vests, ski suits, shells, ski pants, turtlenecks, and accessories. These products are sold throughout U.S. department stores in urban areas and ski shops. With increasing demands and rising competition, Sport Obermeyer needs to have an edge on the market. Starting in 1985 with a joint venture in Hong Kong called Obersport, the company began to increase productivity to meet their new demands. Recently, a number of contractual ventures were added and a new complex in Lo Village Guangdong China have enhance production but increase the level of difficulty on the planning and production stages. The Sport Obermeyer case describes the forecasting, planning and production processes of a global skiwear supply channel. The case provides an in-depth description of the planning and production processes Sport Obermeyer and its supply channel partners undergo each year to develop and deliver Obermeyer's product line. The case will emphasis on the nature of the information that flows among the members of the supply chain and the timing of key decisions and events in order to have a successful inventory line.